Refrigerating machine



NOV. 26,1940. J. J RQGERS 2,222,724

REFRIGERATING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1959 Invent or": James I Rogers,

His Attorney.

Patented Nov. 26, 1940 UNITED s 'rATEs v mmtrcana'rn iq James J. Rogers, SchcnectaimN- Y.) assignor to C General Electric Company, a corpogaticn 01' New York Application April 25, 1939, Serial No.' 269,896. I

3 Claims (01. 248-20) I My invention relates to refrigeratingmachines of the compression type and more particularly to a resilient mounting arrangement for the motor and compressor units thereof.

5 In' many refrigerating machines; and par ticularly those designed for household use, a"

cabinet is provided having a food storage compartment therein; The machine also-includes a motor compressor unit for compressing gaseous I '10 refrigerant which is liquefied in a suitablecondenser and supplied to an expansion type cooling unit located in the food storage compartment of the cabinet. In order to provide a self-contained refrigerating machine it is. desirable that the motor compressor unit be enclosed in a sealed casing and that this casing be mounted in the cabinet. The motor-compressor unit is resiliently mounted on a series of helical compression springs carried bythe bottom wall of the enclosing casing in order to minimize the trans? mission of vibration from the motor compressor unit to: the cabinet.

It is an object of my invention to provide a motor compressor unit with an. improvedarrangement for resiliently mounting the motor compressor unit in an enclosing casing which has a minimum number of. parts, is readily assen bled, inexpensive to manufacture, and quieter in operation.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of my invention i'eference may be had to the accompanying-drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a motor-compressor unit 40 having a resilient mounting embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in perspective of the resilient mounting shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an exploded view in perspective of the resilient mounting arrangement shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the resilient mounting arrangement shown in Fig. 2 taken along the line 4-4.

Referring to the drawing, in Fig. 1 I have shown a refrigerating machine of the household type provided with a helical sealed casing I0 enclosing an electric motor II and acompressor I2. The compressor I2 is secured to the upper end of the motor II as shown in Fig. 1 thus forming a compact motor-compressor unit which is resiliently mounted in the enclosing casing In on project intothe space between adjacent turns tl'iree upwardly extending 'helicaPcompression .springsi3. The springs I3 are secured to. the

lowerportion or base ll of the casing I II by means of lowersupports-Iiandthe motor II and compressor12-aresupported on the springs l3 by 5 .meansot upper supports I6. Supports i5 and 16 comprise a. body or base portion 3| and-a spring-engaging portion 32.

- Fromthe drawin especially Fig. 4, it willbe seen that the supports I5 and I6 are preferably 10- substantially U-shaped,the spring-engaging'portion 32 comprising arms IS, the end or free edges I8 of which are formed insuch a manner astof lie on av helix corresponding to the pitch of the coils of the spring I3. It-w'ill be observed that 15 the inner surface of thearms I9 of the supports I6 and the-outer surface oi the arms I9 of the supports I5 are provided with indentations-or grooves 21' serving as threads for engaging the coils -of the spring I3. Sufficient material is indentation of each support to provide adequate strength at the end edges I8 of the, supports. Thus, the arms I9 of the supports I 5 and 'I6 of the spring IS, the end edges I8 being substantially parallel to the coils of the spring. The

side edges II of the supports I5 and I6, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, are substantially perpendicular to the coils, so that the last coil I3a= of the spring l3 in engagement with arms I9 emerges or departs abruptly from the side edge axis of the spring l3, the last coil I311: engaging the support l6, for example, emerges relatively slowly from the support I6. In such a case the resilient mounting will be noisy in operation because portion M of the coil whichis adjacent the outer or end edges I8 of the support I6 will strike or rub against one of the edges I8 of the support I6 during flexure of the spring l3jthereby creating undesirable noise. Even if the edges ofthe supports are chamfered, some noise will be created.- In the arrangement illustrated in drawing, however, this source of noise is eliminated because the end edge I8 is cut away sufficiently to render it practically impossible for the coils of spring I3 to strike or rub against the supports I5 and I6. It will be understood that spring I3 is sufliciently stiff to prevent striking of adjacent coils during normal operation of the apparatus.

Describing my invention in greater detail, the

casing i is formed of an upper casing section 22 and a lower casing section It, the adjacent edges of these casing sections being welded together at 23 over a reinforcing ring 24. The casings I 4 and 22 are preferably made of steel and are suitably mounted with respect to the refrigerated cabinet. For example, the casing may be mounted in a machinery compartment in the lower portion of the refrigerated cabinet.

As best shown in Fig. 1 the bottom wall of the lower casing section I 4 is provided with three equally spaced-apart and horizontally disposed portions 25 which provide supporting surfaces for the springs l3. A substantially U-shaped support i5 is spot-welded or otherwise rigidly secured to eachof the horizontally disposed portions 25 of the lower casing section M. Each of the supports [5 is provided with indentations or grooves 25 on the outer surface thereof constituting threads for engagement with the lower portion of one of the springs l3 to form a tight frictional connection therebetween. The upper portion of the spring I3 is engaged by a substantially U- shaped member or support 16 having indentations or grooves 21 in the inner surface thereof constitutingthreads for engagement with the coils of the upper portion of the spring 13.

The springs l3 accommodate lateral and upward vibratory movements of the motor-compressor unit within the enclosing casing [0 incident to normal operation thereof and prevent the vibration of the motor compressor unit from being transmitted therefrom to the refrigerator cabinet.

The supports l5 and I6 are preferably formed from metal, as steel, in a suitable stamping operation from a suitable preformed blank. The lower support I5 is preferably formed into a substantially U-shaped member having curved arms I! substantially at right angles to the base portion of the support l5, as best shown in Fig. 3. The upper supports I 6 are preferably formed into substantially U-shaped members having curved arms i9 but the arms l9 are preferably spread outwardly at an angle to the horizontal so that the supports I6 may be readily placed down over the upper portions of the springs I 3, v

as best shown in Fig. 3.

In assembling the refrigerating machine the lower portions of the springs l3 are threaded over the lower supports l5 to form frictional connections therebetween. The three upper supports it are positioned about the motor-compressor unit in equally-spaced relationship to correspond to the spacing of the springs l3 about the baseof the casing and the body portion of the supports I5 is secured as by welding to the lower portion of the motor-compressor unit. The unit having the supports l6 attached thereto is then placed in superposed relation with respect to the upper ends of the upstanding springs. The upper end of each of the springs I 3 is then placed between the extending arms of brackets or supports I 6 with the coils of the spring in substantial registry with the indentations or grooves 21. The arms I 9 of the leg portions of the support l6 are then bent or pressed towards each other about the spring bringing the in dentations into registry and threaded engagement with the coils of the spring. The upper casing section 22 is then lowered into place upon and I6 extend around approximately one-fourth of the circumference of the spring I3. If desired, the amount of surface engaging the spring i 3 may be decreased so that a relatively narrow support may be used. Moreover, the supports l5 and [6 may be provided with any number of arms l9. Finally, the supports may be in the form of a cylinder having its free or end edge arranged to fall on a helix corresponding to the pitch of the coils of the spring l3.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention in connection with a refrigerating machine of the household type, I do not desire my invention to be limited to the particular construction shown and described and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a resilient mounting for a machine, a helical spring and means for maintaining said spring in position to resiliently support said machine, said means comprising a substantially U- shaped support, the arms of said support having indentations formed in a surface thereof for engaging the coils of said spring. the end edges of said arms being disposed substantially on a helix corresponding to the pitch of the coils of said spring and extending into the space between adjacent coils of said spring.

2. In a resilient mounting for a machine, a helical spring and means for maintaining said spring in position to resiliently support said machine, said means comprising a substantially U- shaped support, the arms of said support having indentations formed in a surface thereof for engaging the coils of said spring, the end edges of said arms being disposed substantially on a helix correspondin to the pitch of the coils of said spring and extending into the space between ad- Jacent coils of said spring, the side edges of said arms being so formed that said spring makes an abrupt departure from said support at the point of emergence of said spring from said support.

3.. In a resilient mounting for a machine including a base and a helical spring, means to.

secure said spring to said base including a substantially U-shaped member, the arms of said member having indentations formed in the outer surface thereof for engaging the inner surfaces of a portion of said spring, and means including a second substantially U-shaped member for supporting said machine on said spring, the arms of said second member having indentations formed on the inner surface thereof for engaging the outer surfaces of another portion of said spring.

JAMES J. ROGERS. 

